Get Out Guide

Hot tub time machines, fat tires, and beacons of light

Published Mar 26, 2010, 11:00am

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Scavenger Hunt Okay, so much for my raving last week about the wonders of spring skiing. Slushy snow and suntans be damned, it’s freaking dumping on Mount Hood. Meadows, which reported about 15 inches of snow last night, is under a winter weather advisory. Over at Timberline, six inches have fallen. But tomorrow, the sun is back, baby. As far as to-do’s, Timberline has it going on this weekend with an 80’s-themed “scavenger hunt on skis” in the works. Feel free to seek out your own Hot Tub Time Machine with the lodge’s heated pool. (Timberline Lodge)

Trail Party For the more altruistic among us, consider breaking a sweat (and some trail) with the Northwest Trail Alliance. The mountain biking advocacy group is hosting a trail building party out at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park tomorrow. Work will take place on the upper trail loop, with the goal of getting that section ready by summer. This comes on the heels of the NWTA’s recent agreement with Oregon State Parks, which okayed the construction of new trails specifically meant for mountain biking inside the park. This marks the first time Oregon Parks has signed such an agreement with a private user group. So, naturally, we’ll need to call this historic accordance something… How about the Fat Tire Compact? Or maybe just, awesome. (Northwest Trail Alliance)

Lighten Up Of course, nothing beats a little wildlife viewing. And last week, after a two-month closure, Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint finally re-opened to the public. If you’ll recall, the park was closed in January after vandals shot out the 120-year-old lighthouse’s rarified Fresnel lens. The Spring Whale Watch Week activities are dying down on the coast, but Cape Meares is still a hotspot for observing common murres, not to mention peregrine falcons (a nesting pair has already been sighted this week). The upper portions of the lighthouse are still closed, but the gift shop and information center will be opening on April 1. In the meantime, if you’re interested in chipping in to help with the close to $600,000 in damage done by the rifle-wielding scumbags, check in with the Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse. (Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint)